Separation of fission produced 106Ru from simulated high level nuclear wastes for production of brachytherapy sources

摘要

An effective and simple process for the isolation of ¹⁰⁶Ru from high-level liquid wastes was developed. Radioactive ruthenium was oxidized by H5IO6 in HNO3 solution and was extracted to CCl4 phase in the form of RuO4. In order to obtain ruthenium in the suitable form for production of brachytherapy sources, RuO4 in organic phase was reduced and re-extracted to aqueous phase. The efficiency of extraction of ¹⁰³Ru to organic phase was 86 %, re-extraction to aqueous solution was near 100 %, so the overall recovery of ¹⁰³Ru is estimated at more than 80 %.